Mango is still flavour of the season

Though summer is almost coming to an end, mangoes still seem to be making best of sales.
A walk down in one of Mangaluru’s biggest agricultural produce market - Central Market in Hampankatta reveals that mango season is not over yet. With retailers emptying crates of mangoes coming from Mulki, Suratkal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and other places, a mango lover can be convinced that he can relish the king of fruits for a month or more.

The mango season starts in early March and ends in July wrapping up the season with the produce of Neelam mangoes, says fruit merchant Mohammed Ansar. Central Market proves to be a mango lover’s paradise as it caters to a variety of mangoes ranging from Banganpally, Sindhura, Malgoa, Alphonso, Shakargutli, Kalapadi, Ratnagiri Apus, Badami, Mundappa, Pairy, Ati Madura, Ratnagiri Neelam besides many local and wild varieties. The mangoes differ in shape, size, colour, taste and price.

A chat with Ismail I B, a retailer, reveals how the prices are reflective of the supply of mangoes. In the beginning, during the onset of summer, the prices of mangoes were sky high. But gradually, the supply increased and the prices went down. However, Alphonso remains to be the favourite among the locals, he says. Alphonso, known widely as the king of mangoes belongs to one of the most expensive varieties in India. With a fibreless pulp inside and a light orange colour outside, the locals crave for this luscious fruit.

The prices of the mangoes range from Rs 30/kg to Rs140/kg depending on the type of mango with Banganpally being the cheapest and Alphonso the costliest. Mohammad Siddique, another fruit merchant tells that Langada, Dasari, Chowsa are the mangoes transported from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar specifically. Badami variety is used in preparing fresh fruit juice and other desserts as it contains excess of pulp.

On being asked about the sales in mangoes this year, most of the fruit merchants are all smiles and say that there is a considerable increase in the supply and sales when compared to last year.